The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union has called on
the Secretary of State for Education to provide the evidence and
information to justify the decision to start to reopen schools from
1 June and has warned that teachers remain far from unconvinced
that reopening can be safely or practicably achieved by this
date.
In a letter to , NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach has
underlined the NASUWT’s continued commitment to working with
ministers over the plans for
schools, but has called for further urgent work by the Government
to win the trust and confidence of the profession in meeting its
aim of starting to reopen schools from 1 June.
Dr Roach has called for the Government to provide the
scientific evidence and modelling it has relied on in making its
decision over school reopening, to work with the NASUWT to
strengthen the guidance for schools and to confirm the actions it
will take to monitor and review schools’ compliance on effective
safety measures for staff and pupils.
The lack of confidence and the high level of concern of
teachers about the Government’s plans for schools have been
highlighted by a snapshot survey undertaken by the NASUWT to
which nearly 29,000 responses were received in four days from
members.
The survey found that:
-
95% of teachers expressed concern and anxiety about the
Government’s plans for the wider reopening of schools;
-
93% of teachers find the Government’s plans for 1 June
reopening confusing;
-
92% of teachers did not feel reassured by the
Government’s announcements that it will be safe for more pupils
to return to school/college from 1st June;
-
85% of teachers do not think it will be safe to return on
1 June;
-
92% of teachers believe that social distancing will not
be possible to achieve or will present a major issue in
schools;
-
91% of teachers are not confident about the proposed
measures to protect their health or the health of
children.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General
Secretary, said:
“The NASUWT is fully committed to ensuring children can
return to school as quickly as possible. However, our bottom line
is that no teacher or pupil should be expected to return to
school until it is safe for them to do so.
“We remain committed to discussing with the Secretary of
State a way forward which will ensure that staff and pupils can
return to schools safely. The NASUWT is calling on ministers to
engage in urgent and detailed discussions with us to secure this
aim.
“These discussions will rely on all the scientific evidence
from SAGE being made available to us and to
employers.
“Successful discussions will also rely on the Government’s
willingness to work with us to strengthen the guidance for
schools so that employers are clear about the actions they are
required to take in order to safeguard pupils and
teachers.
“The results of our survey underscore the fact that the
Government has thus far failed to win the trust and confidence of
teachers about the safety of reopening schools. It is now
imperative that the Government takes every available opportunity
to provide the necessary assurances that teachers are
seeking.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
A copy of the letter from Dr Patrick Roach to is attached, along with a copy of the NASUWT’s
survey results.
